Political Philosophy and Justice
70. Robert Paul Wolff: In Defense of Anarchism
- What is Wolff’s argument for anarchism?
- Can political authority ever be justified? Can you imagine any situations in which political authority would be acceptable? Explain.
71. Thomas Hobbes: The Absolutist Answer: The Justification of the State Is the Security It Affords
- Do you agree with Hobbes’s view of human nature? Is self-interest the only motivation that people have in their dealings with one another?
- Are Hobbes’s absolutist view of government and democracy in conflict? Explain.
72. John Locke: The Democratic Answer: The Justification of the State Is Its Promotion of Security and Natural Human Rights
- How do Locke’s view of human nature and Hobbes’s view differ?
- What are the four limits on the legislative power that Locke proposes?
73. John Stuart Mill: A Classical Liberal Answer
- How would Mill’s principle of liberty apply to unpopular minorities who performed actions that the majority thought immoral (but not harmful)?
- What would Mill’s principle of liberty imply about the treatment of homosexuals, pagans, and pornographers?
74. John Rawls: The Contemporary Liberal Answer
- Rawls says that we do not deserve our natural talents and abilities. Do you agree? Why or why not?
- Do Rawls’s principles imply a “welfare state”? Explain.
75. Robert Nozick: Against Liberalism
- What is Nozick’s argument against liberalism? Do you accept it? Why or why not?
- How would Rawls reply to Nozick?
76. Martin Luther King Jr.: Nonviolence and Racial Justice
- What are the five points King makes about nonviolent resistance?
- King says that the universe is on the side of justice. Is this a realistic view? Why or why not?
77. Susan Moller Okin: Justice, Gender, and the Family
- Why, according to Okin, have women been left out of traditional theories of justice?
- Detail some of the men–women inequalities that Okin describes. In your view, how serious are these?
78. Mary Wollstonecraft: A Vindication of the Rights of Women
- According to Wollstonecraft, how do men prevent women from reaching their full potential as intelligent human beings?
- What kind of “revolution in female manners” does Wollstonecraft envision?